What is most important when designing an E Mountain Bike?

[Austin]

For Context, I'm a university automotive and transport design student who has been given a brief to design an E-BIKE. I have chosen to target the E Mountain Bike performance market, and I thought it best to ask people in the space what is most important.

Design Aesthetics?
Weight?
Handling characteristics?
Battery Range?
Quicky Charge on Battery?
Suspension?
DriveChain?
Frame Size?
Materials the bikes are made of?
And so on

Also, if I forget anything or if you think I should know something, please leave a comment on this thread.

 

[Harry Vandsome]

Choosing the right geometry for the type of riding that you're mostly going to do. So: handling.

 

[RustyMTB]

If it's purposeful mountain bikes we're talking, as opposed to the kind of Halfords shaped thing thing you take the kids down the tow path for half an hour, then you're firmly in form follows function territory.

Then you're into all of the things you mention in your question, nearly. As consumers, we'd expect frames to be available in a range of sizes, so that's a given. Weight is a thing but keeping in mind the technology is developed to the point that we can ride 25kg+ bikes for 50 miles plus, the weight thing is far less of a factor overall than it is for unpowered bikes & that also feeds into the frame material - Carbon is big in normal bikes but less important in ebikes with 80+nm motors & 900w.hr batteries.

So, for most riders, the wish list covers handling, quality components & from that, reliability, range & aesthetics - not all bikes look the same & I'd go as far to say Haibike are a study in how to make really good bikes that look awful but that is obvs opinion, however, enough for me to look elsewhere. Soz, Haibike fans.

Good luck with the project, I wish I was at university still!

 

[p3eps]

I guess all of the above categories fall into place when making a decision.

I wanted a single bike to do it all. A light weigh trail bike, that can still have a blast down the DH runs, but can be pedalled 30+ miles round the fire tracks and woods.
I picked one with good geometry / handling, lightweight, correct frame size, and adequate battery range (plus has extenders).
The actual suspension and components (drivetrain, suspension, wheels, bars, stem etc) weren't overly important as I can change these myself.
A lot of people will buy a lower spec / base model as it costs less, and they can use the extra money to change the suspension / drivetrain / wheels etc to their own choice. Giving a 'frame only' option is also a choice that a lot of people want.

A big consideration for me was branding / manufacturer support.
eMTB's are still relatively new, and are still having their fair share of issues. Motors, batteries, display units - mixed with rain and mud. They are improving, but for me it's important to get a bike with a good warranty, and local support.
I've gone with Specialized, as I have a main dealer about 2 miles from my house, and another dealer close by too. As a bigger manufacturer, they generally offer a very good warranty.

Another category you may want to add is MOTOR. Each motor has it's own characteristics and good bad points. Some people specifically wouldn't buy a bike with a certain branded motor - maybe due to high failure rates or unnatural support.

If I was to pick ONE of your categories, I guess it would be "Handling Characteristics", as the frame is the only part you can't upgrade!

 

[VWsurfbum]

Most inportant:

Design Aesthetics?
Weight?
Handling characteristics?
Battery Range?
Quicky Charge on Battery?
Suspension?
DriveChain?
Frame Size?
Materials the bikes are made of?

Yes.


Design Aesthetics - Important for me, Shapes need to be aligned and look like they will work (Not look like its been crashed and bent already, look up Haibike)
Weight - As an ex cross country rider, also very important to us weight weenies, wheels and rotating mass.
Handling characteristics - Yes, a poor handling bike takes the fun away.
Battery Range - Yes, More range, more fun.
Quicky Charge on Battery - Yes ish, but less so on the others for me as if you can charge overnight, that's fine.
Suspension - Next to connection points this is the next most important thing.
DriveChain- Meh, don't get caught up in the whole wireless thing, but don't do headset routed cables
Frame Size - It has to fit.
Materials the bikes are made of - Lightweight and recyclable?
And so on

 

[steve_sordy]

@Austin The suggestions so far are all good in general, but I believe that first you should ask yourself what consumer market you are aiming at.

Some people's first mtb is an emtb and they literally have no idea what they are buying and their first technical question is usually "'ow much!"
Even mtb riders of many years' experience can be at a loss and some will buy a lightweight emtb because they have spent their years knowing that weight is bad. I was in that category and I spent my money on a carbon fibre framed emtb with a small battery. It only weighed 20.4 kg and that was with 29" wheels! But as I progressed, I got to understand the beast and while I loved the bike it couldn't take me where I wanted to go for long enough. So I sold the bike during the pandemic and bought an emtb with bigger travel, more robust suspension and a bigger battery. I now have a keeper!
There are even bigger bikes than mine, heavier too, and with even bigger batteries. But now "lightness" has become a thing again and the "SL" category is back!

I tell you this because unless you have a clear idea of who your bike is aimed at, it will suit nobody.

If your target market is the "performance" market, and you are determined to stick to that, then be very clear what that means. Be specific, very specific.

Designing bikes is hard enough without all the complication of suspension and user skillset and what trail they are to be ridden on. I urge you to go for a rigid lightweight commuter ebike. There will be significant challenges in that alone. There is also a large potential market as I suspect that there are far more commuters that want an easy sweat-free ride into work than there are riders of emtbs.

 

[Mikerb]

For any form of transport the primary design elements have to deliver to a specific market segment/need.
If you are looking at EMTBs as a specific segment of the mountain bike market that is still not specific enough because there are further sub segments, that define the intended use of the EMTB viz.....
Trail
All mountain
Enduro
Downhill

Each has its own frame design, suspension choices, and kinematics.

To further complicate things, manufacturers also offer different motor and battery choices, with the lower powered/smaller battery option usually used to create a lighter more agile bike closer in performance to an ordinary MTB. Still the main EMTB offering includes the most powerful motors ( within the legal limitations) and biggest batteries for maximum range. There is more recently also a mid power/mid size battery option, just to blur the edges of the full fat v lightweight categories.

So all of that merely to point out that you need to pick a sub segment to design, and then folk can tell you the most defining and/or important criterea for that type of EMTB.

 

[TQFreak]

Motor power and transmission

 

[57 Reaction]

Obviously Handling, aesthetics etc are important but if we're talking about EBikes motor reliability, waterproofing and a robust drive train should be high priorities.
EBikes can be subjected to serious use in atrocious conditions, probably more so than manual bikes.

 

[timcking]

For Context, I'm a university automotive and transport design student who has been given a brief to design an E-BIKE. I have chosen to target the E Mountain Bike performance market, and I thought it best to ask people in the space what is most important.

Design Aesthetics?
Weight?
Handling characteristics?
Battery Range?
Quicky Charge on Battery?
Suspension?
DriveChain?
Frame Size?
Materials the bikes are made of?
And so on

Also, if I forget anything or if you think I should know something, please leave a comment on this thread.

The chain centerline and rear suspension pivot must be inline to be most efficient.